I’m pressing pause...

[bigbob]

Sure, but I guess (and I'm really not trying to poke any bears here), why is that a problem? Do you enjoy it here? If so, what's the issue? If not why stay? Are you just looking to talk to a group of people only about Maseratis?

C

It sounds like the mods are on it so let’s see what happens. So many forums have effectively disappeared for a variety of reasons related to posted content, quality & tone of discussion and ability of owners to get what they want elsewhere often on FB etc. If the Maserati bit begins to fail then it just becomes a quasi WhatsApp group for a few mates.

 

[Zep]

It sounds like the mods are on it so let’s see what happens. So many forums have effectively disappeared for a variety of reasons related to posted content, quality & tone of discussion and ability of owners to get what they want elsewhere often on FB etc. If the Maserati bit begins to fail then it just becomes a quasi WhatsApp group for a few mates.

There have been a lot of chat about the tone of discussion, not so much about the car / non-car, but most of the tone issue is in the non-car stuff.

In any event, while there will not be over moderating, we are doing what we can to smooth things out.

 

[outrun]

I think it was driven by my frustration that the forum increasingly has little to do with Maserati.

That would be Maserati’s fault more than the forum’s. Hopefully we will see and touch new cars soon that give us more to talk about. Lockdown, Brexit, Indyref37637637, etc have all contributed to there being more to talk about than new Maseratis sadly.

It will change I hope.

 

[Felonious Crud]

It is being worked on, but as 7 out of the top 10 current posts are about Maserati, I’m not sure it’s quite that bad.

Shortly the top 10 will all be about Masers, with the non-car based stuff being relegated.

This will be good. There are also a number of non-Maser threads of relevance to the core of the forum. Phil’s French car thread, Catman’s quest to be talked out of buying a Bentley, other ad-hoc non-Maser car stuff. These topics are worthy of inclusion in the heart of the forum, in my humble. All the Daily Mail stuff can be put in a box in the attic for those that wish to invest time there and to help avoid the temptation of checking in.

 

[Mr.Cambio]

Hi all,

I’ve been posting less on this forum, and recently have been limited to posts about what I drink, what I weigh, and the colour of my Gransport interior... Not legendary, and I recognise I won’t be a massive loss...

I get that it’s really easy (and in many ways kinda dumb) to think that just because we all like Maserati’s that we would all like each other in real life. I’m not that stupid. I’m also not (IMO) particularly sensitive. However, there’s recently been too many comments I read on various threads that I don’t like, too many arguments that feel unnecessarily vicious and a bit too personal, and there’s not enough stuff I read that makes me laugh, that makes me feel uplifted, or which educates me.

So, for now, I’m pressing pause, taking a digital detox, and I will be back in a month or so.. I really hope the new measures that Conaero, Zep and others are about to introduce help bring this forum back to what it used to be about...

out for now,

Jon

I am happy to see such posts here. And i will explain soon what "happy" means. Obviously not happy about how you might feel, Jon.

I was a very active member here since the first day, even before the first day, actually, since the ending of maseratiforum 10+ years back. We were a lot of dedicated members, some of them still here (and happy for that), like AndyK, Dan and Newton, some other gone, like Parisien, Emtee and Mark (toomanyhorses). To the above, i will add Robert (hodroyd), because Robert at that time was active and respectful, sadly in the following years he did a lot of mistakes, probably due to his own personal situations. Most of you know the ending of hodroyd's behaviour, so probably some already have a negative opinion. But my post is not about anyone, but me.

Jon, despite not knowing us, i can totally understand how you feel. In the years that came, to the SM came a lot of members, with unknown origin. 15 years back we all were enthusiasts, now the forum consists of less enthusiasts and more people who came to show off. Show off cars, show off money, show off anything, just like beeing in school showing off who has the most slutty girl, or play better football.
I personally had one or two coflicts with members here insulting. Even conaero did call me in Athens to make things calm down, and i explained to him that even if it was not me, someone else would be, so i suggested that specific members should be thrown away, because they are arguing all the time and on every subject.
Some guy above (i think it was Mark) told that on a lot of subjects there is a lot of venom, on which i completely agree.

As said in my last post in August, the SM has become a clique and there were ("were", not "are") a couple of the members of that clique with that venom in almost every topic. Now i am a bit happy that i do not see them write anymore, cause these people did harm some relationships in this forum.
You know, paying fees, or beeing the "exclusive SM member" does not automatically make you a good person. So, to the SM owner, it's not all about money. Remember, the SM was made and supported of enthusiasts. Better forget the cliques and the fees and get back to what used to make this forum interesting and polite. When you come back to this, all venom will disapear, and the truly entusiasts will return.

And to conclude, Jon, with my word "happy" i bet it is now understood what i meant.

 

[Zep]

You know, paying fees, or beeing the "exclusive SM member" does not automatically make you a good person. So, to the SM owner, it's not all about money. Remember, the SM was made and supported of enthusiasts.

I completely respect your view Nikos, but I have to tell you that there are no fees for membership of the forum. The centenary club was created for of a group of members who made a charitable contribution to a particular cause. There are no additional privileges, apart from knowing that they have tried to do some good.

The formation of groups of like minded members, cliques if you like, is a natural part of how groups of individuals work. It cannot be stopped. Some members attend events, some organise them, some make or find cheaper parts, some offer technical assistance. These contributions are recognised and real friendships are forged through that. There may well the threads which some people dislike, which they should avoid. I don’t like some of them, but it’s not down to any one person, if people post on them, and they aren’t offensive or devisive then they should stay.

SM was and still is supported by enthusiasts, we have listened to the feedback, changes are in progress, but the fundamentals of this free service remain exactly as they were.

 

[hashluck]

Yes, you were looking at the MCV rather lustily all day... there’s an argument to have both as they’re quite different experiences.

Yes there is, and yes they are

 

[Oneball]

But that does leave me a problem of where *should * put my Panama....?


C

Bin?



Be grateful it’s a Maserati forum and they break a lot, think of all the non car stuff going on on BMW or VW forums at the moment. Ewan’s Audi thread has gone nowhere, how long has he had it, 2 weeks? And not a whiff of excitement

 

[rossyl]

This will be good. There are also a number of non-Maser threads of relevance to the core of the forum. Phil’s French car thread, Catman’s quest to be talked out of buying a Bentley, other ad-hoc non-Maser car stuff. These topics are worthy of inclusion in the heart of the forum, in my humble. All the Daily Mail stuff can be put in a box in the attic for those that wish to invest time there and to help avoid the temptation of checking in.

I really would scrap the Top 10 thread list, at least till things are back to normal, it just tends to encourage off topic.

I would not have looked at a thread titled "US Civil War" if it was not at the top of the list.

 

[Zep]

I really would scrap the Top 10 thread list, at least till things are back to normal, it just tends to encourage off topic.

I would not have looked at a thread titled "US Civil War" if it was not at the top of the list.

Remember that the “top 10” is the 10 most recent posts. Not the most popular, not even with the most posts. If you reply to them, they stay on the list.

 

[Dan!]

This is a weird thread. After skimming through I've made a few observations;
There are people persisting to try and make a point that there's not enough discussion about Maserati, in between posts discussing Maserati.
The chap that started the thread stating that he's going to have a digital detox was last active in the last half hour.
The person that pretty much kicked off this meltdown with a very public flounce is now back and commenting.
There is no clique, unless you make a donation to charity to join the clique. But there is no clique. (taps nose)
Some people have an amazing, dry sense of humour that a lot of people completely don't get and then get all upset about nothing.
One of the people that has been bullied the most, abused the most, has silently moved away without anyone noticing. And clearly the place is no better for it.
Other than that. No complaints, carry on.

 

[Oneball]

It’s been a better place since my “flounce” and I had noticed and sent him a message.

 

[Wattie]

It’s been a better place since my “flounce” and I had noticed and sent him a message.

I’d encouraged him to send you one as I thought you could both sort it out.

 

[Doctor Houx]

I’ve been on here 2 years since buying my 1st Maserati.

Ive asked questions about where to go to get it serviced and alternate part sources and have found members to be very helpful and informative.

In return, I’ve posted of my experiences with the car and parts I’ve fitted and answered queries about Le Mans and living in France in general, which pre COVID I did for half the year.

I’ve been invited by a fellow member to their home to indulge in our love of Cigars and have laughed at many of the non motoring posts on here.

This and a couple of other forums have kept me amused, informed and sane during the various lockdowns and I salute and thank all the contributors on here. I’m certainly staying around!

 

[Dan!]

I’d encouraged him to send you one as I thought you could both sort it out.

That's out of context with my post so I assume you must be responding to someone on my very short ignore list. Great feature that, can't recommend it enough as way to personalise your experience on here to one that suits your taste and tolerances.

 

[Scaf]

It’s funny - lots of people commenting on the lack of Maserati content are contributing to the various threads about non Maserati content, which fall into the category of having nothing to do with Maserati.
Best way to combat none Maserati content if don’t like it:

1. Stop contributing to such threads or creating addition ones
2. Start a thread with Maserati content

 

[Gazcw]

I completely respect your view Nikos, but I have to tell you that there are no fees for membership of the forum. The centenary club was created for of a group of members who made a charitable contribution to a particular cause. There are no additional privileges, apart from knowing that they have tried to do some good.

The formation of groups of like minded members, cliques if you like, is a natural part of how groups of individuals work. It cannot be stopped. Some members attend events, some organise them, some make or find cheaper parts, some offer technical assistance. These contributions are recognised and real friendships are forged through that. There may well the threads which some people dislike, which they should avoid. I don’t like some of them, but it’s not down to any one person, if people post on them, and they aren’t offensive or devisive then they should stay.

SM was and still is supported by enthusiasts, we have listened to the feedback, changes are in progress, but the fundamentals of this free service remain exactly as they were.

I thought the centenary club was set up for the older member, and if we didn't hear from any of you over a couple of days especially in the winter, that we were supposed to prod you with a stick!

 

[P5Nij]

It is an odd thread in a way but understandable if you take a step back and look at it. I'm sure we all go through phases with the various forums we're on, I know I do, I've had quiet periods on SM but am always chuffed to see new content when I drop in, whether it's Maserati related or not. It's the same over on Pistonheads, where of late a lot of vitriol and bile is posted in the news & politics section, best avoided really as almost every poster appears to be trying to take the moral high ground and shouting down anyone who holds a different view. I used to be regular poster in that section but rarely bother now. Like most forums, it is a huge echo chamber.

On here though, I do try to keep anything I post relevant to Italian cars, hopefully adding a splash of colour here and there in the 'pic of the day' thread. One day I will run out of Maserati pics....!

 

[Felonious Crud]

That's out of context with my post so I assume you must be responding to someone on my very short ignore list. Great feature that, can't recommend it enough as way to personalise your experience on here to one that suits your taste and tolerances.

 

[allandwf]

I would not have looked at a thread titled "US Civil War" if it was not at the top of the list.

I still haven't looked in it, let alone post.